• The NDC's Alex Segbefia says it is an endorsement of impunity by this government
• He says it paints a dark future for the country
The National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) Director of International Relations Directorate, Alex Segbefia, says the continuous impunity of persons in political office, and the emboldened support they receive from political leadership portends a dark picture for the country.
According to him, being close to persons in authority in this government encourages people to get away with all sorts of things, including crimes.
Speaking on the Saturday, August 28, 2021, edition of NewsFile on the JoyNews channel, Alex Segbefia said the case of Mavis Hawa Koomson, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, is a case in point that creates a dark future for this nation.
“I think that there is a darker picture that concerns me. The level of impunity that exists, or appears to exist in our body politic is extremely worrying. Once you appear to have links with government, any investigative process stalls to the point of non-existence.
“I stand to be corrected but I’m told that the issue with Hawa Koomson, a decision has come out and they are no going to further investigate it – they were investigating it; the shooting she admitted, is now being cleared. And how do you expect it to be seen differently?” he explained.
During a recent interview on an Accra-based radio station, Mavis Hawa Koomson, who is also the Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East, boisterously and gleefully revealed that the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service had decided discontinue its case against her for unjustifiably firing gunshots at Steps to Christ Voters Registration Centre on July 20, 2020, for want of evidence.
Alex Segbefia, still unclear about this certainty or not, said that it creates a worrying precedent for the future, rubbing off on the president that is a man who rather promotes impunity when he should be clamping down on it.
“Assuming it is true, it creates a problem for us in terms of this level of impunity that we have. And, the other issue is that, look, under President Kufuor, when an issue came up with regards to Hon. Anane, he was asked to vacate his position, we had issues with that but at least, on paper, he was not at post. The investigation was conducted by CHRAJ, he was cleared, he was reinstated.
“Under President Mills, Dr. Sipa Yankey was the Minister of Health. This issue came up for further investigations, he had to relinquish his position. He was replaced by Hon, Kombuor. Subsequently, he was cleared, he became the boss for Ghana Gas,” he explained.
He added that it is sad that in this case, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has rather rewarded Mavis Hawa Koomson with a ministerial appointment “when an investigation is deemed to be going on.”
Alex Segbefia is the NDC Director of International Relations